Concept art from the production of Halo 4. Picture: Courtesy of 343 Studios Source: Supplied

Neil Davidge has worked with David Bowie, Massive Attack

"I've been a fan since the very first game

Soundtrack all about 'the combination of organic and digital"

HE'S worked with some of the biggest names in music - from Snoop Dogg to David Bowie. Now music veteran Neil Davidge has created the soundtrack for one of the most anticipated blockbuster games of the year. WILL COLVIN reports.

Halo is the kind of video game that even your grandmother has probably heard about.

When the first instalment, Halo: Combat Evolved, was released by Bungie Software in 2001 as Microsoft's flagship title for their then brand-new Xbox console, it caused a bit of a storm.

Statistically, it sold more than five million copies worldwide, but that doesn't quite capture the spirit of what it felt like to be a gamer when Halo was released.

It looked amazing, and it introduced a generation of gamers to Bungie's majestic and cryptic sci-fi style (the entire game took place on a planet that was in the shape of a gigantic ring, or halo, and put gamers in the shoes of a genetically engineered soldier in charge of protecting the last human refugees from a mysterious alien force called the Covenant.)

But perhaps one of the most striking things about the original Halo was its score. The game's orchestral theme is still one of the most memorable pieces in video game music history, and the game's music pushed the industry further towards cinematic, Hollywood-style soundtracks.

The fourth instalment of the game, Halo 4, will be released this November, and has changed hands - this time around it's being developed by 343 Studios. And when it comes to music, they're equally committed to quality.

They've hired Neil Davidge, a music industry veteran who's worked with Massive Attack, Damon Albarn, Unkle, David Bowie, Snoop Dogg and Mos Def, to name a few, and scored films like Luc Besson's Unleashed and the Sundance-winner Trouble the Water.

He told news.com.au that for him, composing the music for Halo 4 was a dream come true.

"I've been a fan since the very first game,” Mr Davidge said. “I'd play it in the studio whilst waiting for bands to turn up, or when computers would crash, any excuse really to go in and play. I got hooked right back at the beginning.

"To get this gig in the first place, it seems perfect really, I had all the training I needed."

Mr Davidge says that the combination of organic and digital is one of the most important themes of the game's sound and that he wanted to explore that as deeply as possible whilst preserving the feeling that gamers are used to.

Cortana, the Master Chief's AI sidekick, will be making an appearance in Halo 4. Picture: Courtesy of 343 StudiosSource: Supplied

"We wanted to evolve the music of Halo, but not necessarily to revolutionise it. I didn't want to walk into the studio with a drum machine and some distortion pedals and change it. I didn't want to come in presuming that I could just do whatever I wanted. I knew that there was a legacy here.

"There are a lot of composers out there who are great orchestral composers and can combine that with electronics, but it's not their thing, it's not their bag. They can dive into it and have a play and come up with something that's OK, it gets in. But they wanted someone who was authentic and has been working with electronic music for a long time and also has the melodic sensibilities and the emotional feel for orchestral music as well.

New environments and vehicles in Halo 4. Picture: Courtesy of 343 StudiosSource: Supplied

"I would say that this score is far more orchestral than anything else I've done previously. It's not an overtly electronic score, it's a kind of fifty fifty.

"It's more comic book, more graphic novel than some kind of dark, ambient soundtrack. It's larger than life. There's a lot of very cinematic music in there, but there's always an aspect to it that's quite modern at the same time. The combination of the two gives it its strength."

He also says that when composing, he can draw influence from everywhere, from movies to real life experiences, as long as what he's doing is coming from the heart.

"All music and all art, for me personally, is about the human heart, it's about emotion and communicating and connecting. So anything that connects with me is taken onboard."

"I love great science fiction movies. One of my favourite movies is Blade Runner, and the score for that, by Vangelis, is just outstanding. I often just listen to that on its own, for pleasure."

Concept art from the production of Halo 4. Picture: Courtesy of 343 StudiosSource: Supplied

And though you might not always notice it, Mr Davidge says that the score is one of the most important elements of the game's story.

"I think the score for a game like Halo is incredibly important. Obviously the action, the gameplay is really important, that's what makes it fun. But the story is something that keeps the game in your mind, keeps it animated and involved in the universe. And the music is the thing that keeps the game in your heart. It gets you emotionally engaged.

"It's something that they got very, very right on the Halo games before this, it helped the gamer connect emotionally with the characters in a way that hadn't really happened before in gaming."

This was Mr Davidge's first time scoring a video game, and he says that it's quite a big leap from the work he's done before.

"There are some pretty major differences. For a movie, you know how long that scene is going to be that you're writing for. Of course they can re-edit that scene, and they often do, but essentially you know where all the major hit points are, you know how long that scene's going to last for, so you can work very closely with the dialogue, with the action.

"With a game, you don't know how long a mission is going to last. It's always down to the player themselves. So the music must be flexible to kind of play around a while without getting boring, so I have to constantly change and evolve it. The music can react to the playing style of the gamer, whether they're going in guns blazing, or snooping around a little while and sussing out the scene.

"The music has to be able to react to the game play, and for it to be seamless. For it to feel as though this music has been scored for the way you're playing the game at that moment."

One of the new enemies players will encounter in Halo 4. Picture: Courtesy of 343 StudiosSource: Supplied

Mr Davidge says that it was sometimes tricky to compose without always being able to see exactly what he was composing for.

"I had very little to go on as I was writing the music. I had to create the scene inside my head, and learn as much as I could about the characters in the game, by asking questions, referencing artwork, and seeing little bits of gameplay."

"I had to do a lot of internal stuff, almost like method acting. Imagining how the Master Chief would feel, or how I would feel, in that particular moment, coming up against that character or that problem."

And even though it's not always perfect, Mr Davidge says that the future of music in the gaming industry is getting brighter all the time.

"Video game music still suffers a little from following some of the cliches of Hollywood score, and playing to those cliches. Some of those cliches are fun, and work really well, but more and more I'd like to see the same kind of wish for new and original game scores.

"It's already happening, bands are now getting offered the opportunity to score games, and I think that's such a great opportunity as a creative medium for bands to get involved in a project and do some of their best work."

New environments and vehicles in Halo 4. Picture: Courtesy of 343 StudiosSource: Supplied

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